Ukrainian honey exports of 33,700 tons saw a decrease of 37 percent through the first ten months of 2018 in comparison to last year, according to Ann Burka, a consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO.
“We lose not only in natural and monetary terms, but also in positions on the key markets for Ukrainian products,” she wrote in a report.
“Thus, Ukraine will not be able to boast of another export record in 2018,” she added.
Some 66,000 tons of Ukrainian honey was produced in 2017, putting the country in fifth place globally in terms of production and third in exports, according to research reported on the Ukrainian agribusiness portal.
Most of Ukraine’s honey exports went to the U.S., Germany, Poland and France.
Vadym Pankovskyі, director at Ukrainian Association of Honey Exporters and Processors, or UAHEP, sees clear reasons for the rapid decline in exports of honey.
When the honey export season of 2018 started in July and August, large volumes of honey from the previous period emerged on the global honey market, both in Europe and the U.S.
This led to a drop in the demand for Ukrainian honey and importers of Ukrainian honey began to ask for a significantly lower price than it was before, according to Pankovskyі as written on the UAHEP website.
“If in the beginning of 2018 the export price was around 2 euros per kilogram, then in July-August it was already 1.4 euros per kilogram. As a result, the purchase price on the domestic market fell to 1.16-1.22 euros per kilogram as well,” said Pankovskyі.
However, beekeepers continue to restrict the sales of honey refusing to lower the price.
They refer to an increase in production costs and a reduction in honey collection due to the death of bees.
“Although, according to calculations, the cost of production of honey does not exceed 0.5-0.7 euros per kilogram at an efficient apiary, while the rest is beekeeper’s profits,” said Pankovskyі.
As a result, beekeepers will be forced to sell honey on the domestic market, which will lead to a drop in prices.
However, in the longer term Ukraine will meet other threats in the global honey market – both European and American buyers will find other, more reliable suppliers, such as India, which is rapidly increasing its honey production, according to Pankovskyi.
“Importers need stable, reliable suppliers, and the image of the country [as a supplier] is not formed in one year — it can easily be destroyed,” he said.
